October 27: Back in Grenada

For our last night's dinner in Texas, Craig's mom fixed us a bona fide Thanksgiving dinner...turkey with all the usual decorations, along with a holiday assortment of pies and desserts from which to choose. It was quite a special feast! Despite the circumstances that prolonged our visit in Texas, we have certainly enjoyed our stay at Craig's parents. Thanks Mom and Dad Yakel! Love You!

We flew back to Grenada on Sunday, October 25th. We had a long layover in Miami but other than that, our day of travel was uneventful and the taxi dropped us off at the marina about 8:30pm. We are glad to see S/V Hakuna Matata sitting pretty in the water but even before we set foot on the stern, something is amiss, or rather, missing. Our dinghy engine, which we left padlocked to the stern rail, is GONE! Buggers! Plus a whole lot of other words which would offend our reading public. We just bought that one less than a month before we left. Insured, but still.

Pretend you are us. Get dropped off from the airport at your house. Open your garage and find your new car gone. It is a sickening feeling. Funny thing is that there are occupied boats on either side of us, less than 20 feet away, and both of these couples sleep with windows/hatches open due to no air conditioning. This was a professional stealth job. The police say our engine has probably been sent to Venezuela and swapped for drugs.

We will contemplate options in the morning. We are grateful that the boat is otherwise untouched and are especially glad that the electronics at the helm station and the dinghy lashed down on the foredeck are unharmed.

We wake up in the morning to get about our list of chores...general cleanup, putting the boat back together, etc. since we had dismantled a fair amount for hurricane preparation. Many people return to unattended boats to find the interiors covered in mildew, but then again, they are not as compulsive as we are regarding the care, love and feeding of teak. I find a small bloom behind the salon table which is stored upright against the foreward bulkhead. The nerve. Organisms in my boat. A light clorox rinse followed by lemon oil cleans it right up.

Tervis tumblers. Fabulous invention. I had no idea. Mom sent us home with some as a gift, complete with lids and straws so we don't spill in the dinghy. Not only stylish and attractive, they keep ice and drinks cold forever. Ice, as you may or may not know, is the most expensive ingredient in a rum and coke. Tervis tumblers. Get yours today.

Back to the dinghy engine. So, we were really in a quandary. If we run out and get another new one, we will worry about it constantly. Common wisdom is to get an old crappy one. What to do???

As luck would have it, there was an announcement today on the daily cruisers' net (daily VHF radio update and forum) regarding a used engine being brokered by the local marine supply store manager. We pounced. This took most of the day, but the end result is that we have a 15 horse Mercury that runs like a scalded dog, only cost $250 and is so unbelievably ugly that no cocaine-sniffing mango picker would possibly deign to steal it.

All in all, it is great to be back on the boat in Grenada.

October 16-21: Kemah, Texas

We drove four and a half hours down to Kemah, Texas on Friday, October 16th to scout the area and visit fellow pirate, Captain Skip. Skip now lives aboard his very own S/V Prodigal, a 46 foot ketch-rigged Morgan, currently situated in the Kemah Boardwalk Marina.

We hit town around 2pm and Craig gave me the personal tour to see if I liked the area. S/V Hakuna Matata was located in Kemah for several months when Craig first purchased the boat, and we had mostly decided that Kemah might be a great location for us when we return to the United States next year. Kemah has a wonderful small town/beach town flavor but is conveniently situated about 25 miles south of Houston for big city excitement and airport access.

S/V Prodigal:

We arrive at the boat and projects are quickly underway:

Pirate Skip. The man, the myth, the legend. With a power tool.

Squeeze and keep 'em together, Skip. That might hurt!

An interesting note. This is S/V Wanderer, the actual one, of Captain Ron fame. She is for sale and needs a lot of love.

After a day or two of projects, we went out for a test sail on Sunday afternoon. We passed the Kemah Boardwalk on our way out to Galveston Bay. It was a beautiful weekend and there was also a race going on. There were lots of boats.

With the test sail a raging success, we left on Monday to sail down to Offats Bayou. Captains Skip and Craig did a great job getting us safely across the channels. Motor tankers are very impressive from our "up close and personal" perspective:

After passing under I-45, the Galveston Causeway Bridge, we entered Offats Bayou to anchor for the evening. It is a great anchorage with plenty of nice shacks and Moody Gardens.

We had a great time enjoying wind in our hair and spending some time at anchor. Thanks Skip for your hospitality and friendship. After we left S/V Prodigal, we spent the day scouting waterfron real estate. Many exciting properties, but purchase at this time requires a job.

Not yet!! We are soon headed back to Grenada!!

October 8-15: Tallahassee, Florida

I spent most of the second week in Tallahassee after sending Craig home to Dallas. We had a great night visiting with krewe friends Barry and Ginger Hoffman who joined us for gumbo dinner. Another required activity in Tallahassee is a trip down to Calico Jacks's for some fine raw oysters straight out of Apalachicola Bay, accompanied by a cold brew.














My mom's garden offers a buffet of food and activities for avian friends. Hers is a very popular stop, and within a few minutes, one can see the full spectrum: finches, chickadees, titmice, wrens, woodpeckers, nuthatches, towhees, cardinals, hummingbirds, bluejays, mockingbirds, sparrows and bluebirds. Of special note is the rare Johnson's warbler, identified by Daddy's keen eye and bird know-how. Blackbirds and squirrels do not dare enter the haven. A special treat is the bluebird happy hour. The entire troupe, 4 pairs this year, show up promptly and daily around 4:30pm for baths. The girl in the garden presides over activities.

I flew back to Dallas on October 15 after a relaxing and wonderful time at home. Thanks Mom and Daddy. Love you!!!

October: Tallahassee, FL

On October 2nd we flew to Tallahassee, Florida to see my parents. No trip to Tallahassee is complete without attending a krewe party, and this one was exceptional in that it included boats and the Gulf of Mexico. Captain Bill Willhelm took us out on S/V Manana, a 41foot ketch-rigged Morgan...almost like home! We passed by a wind-surfing race and also encountered Richard and Sally Musgrove on P/V (party vessel) Happy Ours. Thanks, Bill, for an afternoon of frolicking and sorely-missed wind in our face....just what the captain needed.

Captain Bill and Daddy :

Craig on deck, the race and Happy Ours:

The party continued into the evening and with a full moon, another trip on the water seemed just the ticket to complete the night. Thanks, Richard!

Today we went on a field trip, starting with St Mark's light house on the Gulf:

A Florida fritillary:

Fiddler Crabs, a brief expose:

1. See the crabs.

2. Chase the crabs.

3. Catch a crab.

4. Eat the crab. Or not.

Next, we went to Wakulla Springs. We had a wonderful lunch in the circa 1930's lodge, and then went on a river boat ride in search of manatee, alligators and other wild life:

Craig is here for another couple of days, I am here for another week. More to follow...